


Perhaps You Should Stay Undercover

by reason_says



Category: Jonas Brothers, The Academy Is...
Genre: F/M, Implied Relationships, M/M, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-10
Updated: 2010-08-10
Packaged: 2017-10-12 20:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/128613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reason_says/pseuds/reason_says
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kevin Jonas got married, he thought it was as happy as it was possible to be. At least, until he met Mike Carden. Still in love with his wife but confronted with forbidden feelings, how will he reconcile himself to himself? And what are his brothers keeping from him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perhaps You Should Stay Undercover

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Written for [](http://community.livejournal.com/jb_bigbang/profile)[](http://community.livejournal.com/jb_bigbang/)**jb_bigbang**
> 
> Art by: [](http://mayqueen517.livejournal.com/profile)[**mayqueen517**](http://mayqueen517.livejournal.com/), [here](http://community.livejournal.com/obscenepurposes/15956.html).

****  
Perhaps You Should Stay Undercover  


 

"With this ring, I thee wed." Tears filled his eyes as he slipped the ring on her finger. Minutes later, as she removed his old ring and slipped on the new one, sealing themselves to each other and marking the beginning of their new lives together, he felt like his heart was going to burst.

Their first kiss as husband and wife was chaste, but each could feel the emotion behind the abbreviated press of lips, the knowledge that they were bound together until death did them part. Kevin knew that, in Heaven, people neither married nor were given in marriage, but he couldn't help but feel that this marriage would be Heaven on Earth.

The whole ceremony was beautiful, like something straight out of a fairy tale. Even the unexpected blizzard only added to the ambiance. It was everything Kevin had hoped for and more, everything Danielle had wanted. Her face as she'd walked down the aisle towards him was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen. It had only been three years since they'd first met, but already he could barely remember what life felt like without someone near you, helping you up, allowing you to help _them_ up. He and Dani were so blessed to have found each other, and Kevin gave thanks every day that God had brought this wonderful woman into his life.

The reception had been equally wonderful, of course. Most of the family's closest friends were there, and the clinking of knives against glasses gave Kevin and Danielle the opportunity to kiss as much as they wanted without being mocked by their siblings. Nick choked up while playing the song he'd written for them, which was rare enough that Kevin couldn't help but tear up as well. Even the fact that Nick and Joe disappeared soon afterwards, Joe holding a bottle of what looked suspiciously like the alcohol Kevin had reluctantly agreed to provide, wasn't enough to bring him down. He was in love and he was married and what Nick and Joe got up to in the castle was only his business if they got lost and he had to admit he'd been the last one to see them, so he was going to dance with his beautiful bride and allow himself to be happier than he'd ever thought he could possibly be.

Kevin knew what some people said about him. Their mom always told them not to pay attention to that sort of thing, but one visit to a supermarket, one glance at the covers of those magazines, told him more than he'd ever wanted to know. Even if it was a minority, some people thought his marriage, his love for his wife, was a lie. Or, at the very best, an effort to hide his supposed fondness for men. Kevin really wasn't sure where they got that from. He liked women. Had _always_ liked women! Primarily Danielle, of course, but he was a normal human guy, of course he'd been attracted to other girls before he met her. But guys? He didn't understand where they got that from. Not at all.

Not that other people's opinions mattered when Danielle was coming out of the bathroom in less than he'd ever seen her wear before. They'd never even shared a room overnight before getting married, because even though Danielle didn't wear a ring she respected Kevin's decision to wait, and they both decided it would be too much temptation. Now, seeing her like this, Kevin knew what a good idea that had been. If she'd ever been as willing as she was now, he didn't think that all the preaching in the world could have stopped him. He loved her, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and now he got to. Got to love her in all the ways a man should love a woman, when they'd been bound together in the eyes of God and man. He stood up as she drew closer, reaching out to her.

"I love you so much, Dani."

She smiled, brushing her hair away from her face. "I bet I love you more."

"Not a chance," he whispered, leaning in and pushing the straps of her nightgown down her shoulders. He rested his forehead against her for a moment, before capturing her lips with his for their first kiss since the reception ended. She wrapped her arms around him, her kiss growing hungrier, and he found himself embarrassed. She smiled against his lips, however, and ran a hand down his chest.

"It's OK. This is what it's meant for." At that she stepped back entirely and let her nightgown drop, and – though he'd never admit it even to her – he may have lost the ability to form words.

He'd seen pictures of women before, of course. He, like everyone else, had gone through a phase where he backslid on the Lord and looked at illicit photos. But Dani – his _wife_ – standing before him was more amazing than any tawdry magazine could ever hope to be. He reached out to her, and they fell to the bed together.

~~~

The fact that Kevin and Dani moved into their new house immediately following their honeymoon didn't prevent Kevin's family from visiting every chance they got. Danielle's family was, on the whole, busy – not to mention farther away – and while Kevin loved them he couldn't help but be relieved. One bunch of people interrupting his alone time with his wife was surely bad enough. On the plus side, Kevin's mom brought food almost every time she came over. This went rather a ways towards easing his irritation with hid dad, who had pulled him aside the first time they'd visited and reminded him that, while he was of course married now, not all sexual acts were acceptable to the Lord. Kevin got out of that conversation quickly, his face flaming.

This was also his reaction when Joe pointedly did not ask him anything. His brother had never been the subtlest of creatures, and his winks and jabs to Kevin's ribs would have been laughable if it hadn't all been so embarrassing. Yes, Kevin was married. Yes, he'd had marital relations. With his wife. Not that it was anyone's business, but Danielle had even shown him some things he'd never thought of doing, things he was quite sure had purposes other than procreation. Frankly, Kevin felt free to ignore his father's advice on this one.

Eventually, Kevin even stopped caring about what those magazines might have to say. He knew he loved his wife, and that they both loved God, and that was very nearly all that mattered in his life. Of course, the paparazzi continued to hound them, some asking completely inappropriate questions about Dani's fertility, but with her hand clasped in his he was more than happy to go shopping whenever she wanted to. And, after all, they were in a new house, so it was often more of a necessity than a whim.

Since the band wasn't touring at the moment, and Nick was still gearing up for his Administration thing, Kevin didn't really do much outside the house for a few weeks. He got a dog, cooked a lot, and continued doing his Christian duty by his wife – sometimes several times a day. He and Dani had gotten into the groove of married life so quickly that he was genuinely surprised, one morning, to get a call from an old friend whom he hadn't seen in months.

"Hello?"

"What, you couldn't even invite me to the wedding?"

"Mike?"

"Of course Mike, you weirdo. What, I'm not good enough for your family?"

"It's not that you're not _good_ enough, you're just not… _Italian_ enough."

Mike laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised. You know we're in town, right? Or as close to your little fake town as a tour's ever gonna get." He paused. "We're in Dallas, is what I'm saying."

Kevin, having already raced to the calendar, gasped. "Oh gosh, I forgot, I'm sorry! You wanna come over? I've got a new place now and everything, I'm sure Dani'd love to meet you."

"Tempting as a night with the missus is, I think I might have to save that for another time. Noon at the usual work for you?"

"That works! See you there, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Kevin could practically hear Mike's smirk as the line clicked dead. A glance at the clock told him he still had an hour until he had to leave, so he headed back upstairs.

Forty-five minutes later, stumbling out of bed for the second time that day, Kevin looked back at his wife. "By the way, do you mind if I go out for a while? My friend Mike is in town, for once, and I'd kinda like to hang out with him."

Danielle laughed, stretching. "After that, I'd let you do pretty much anything. Besides, I've kept you cooped up here too long. Go hang out with your friends, honey."

Kevin kissed her on the forehead before struggling back into his shirt. "Baby, you know I don't mind being here with you, right? I mean, I kind of can't think of anything I'd mind less."

"I know, Kev, I'm just kidding. Go, have fun. I'm still worn out, anyway." She stuck her tongue out at him, but he bravely withstood temptation – simply waving, with a smile, and walking back downstairs.

Danielle sat in bed for a few more minutes, reading the newspaper, before deciding it was time to get ready for the day. She pulled on her robe and was just about to start her shower when the doorbell rang. Rolling her eyes in fond amusement at Kevin's tendency to forget the simplest things, she tightened her robe and went down stairs. The bell rang several more times before she got there, and her expression turned first cautious, then resigned. When she opened the door, she wasn't at all surprised to see Joe there, in the midst of ringing the bell yet again. She cleared her throat, unable to hold back a grin, and he jumped.

"Oh! Hi, Dani, how are you?" He hugged her awkwardly, as aware as she was that she wasn't properly dressed. "Uh, is Kevin here?"

"He just left, actually, I'm sorry."

"Oh." His face fell, but lifted again after some consideration. "I guess I'll just have to wait for him. Do you think he'll be gone long?" He slipped past her into the foyer without waiting for a response, leaving her to sigh and close the door behind him. He was her husband's brother, and she loved him, but he had perpetually bad timing.

Joe, meanwhile, had stretched out on the couch, his arms behind his head. "So where'd he go?"

Danielle sat on the edge of the chair, tightening her robe again. "Someone named Mike? He didn't give many details."

Joe sat up quickly. "Mike's in town? Awesome, I totally forgot! Maybe he can get us into the show tonight!"

"Wait, wait." Danielle held up her hands, as if to stem the flow of nonsensical words. "Who's Mike? What show?"

Joe tilted his head. "You don't know Mike?"

"I… thought I'd made that pretty clear. No, I don't know him. Who is he? Why has Kevin never mentioned him?"

Joe shrugged. "I don't know, has he mentioned much? I got the feeling you guys had been kinda busy since the wedding."

Danielle shot a sharp look at Joe, but his innocent expression belied the potential double entendre. She never knew with him. "Be that as it may," she answered, her tone careful, "you haven't answered my other questions. Who is this Mike person, and what show are you talking about?"

"Oh, right! Sorry!" Joe bounced in excitement. "Mike's in a band, and they're in town today – I forgot until you mentioned that, so thanks! The band's called The Academy Is, with three dots after it. They're on Decaydance, it's Pete Wentz's label. They're great."

Danielle laughed, stunned by the flood of information. Still, she supposed she had asked for it. "OK, I get it! So how did they meet? I mean, you guys don't really hang out with Pete Wentz that much, do you?"

Joe rolled his eyes in exasperation, though not with her: "No, Mom says he's a bad influence. But we went to one of his parties, once! That was pretty great."

"So is that where Mike and Kevin met, then?"

"That's where I was going with tha- ow!" Joe rubbed his arm, glaring at Dani. "You didn't have to hit me, I was getting there!"

~~~

Mike and Kevin had met at one of Pete Wentz's parties – the only one Joe had been able to convince his parents to let him attend. They'd insisted Kevin come along for protection, and under that umbrella they'd been able to bring Nick too. Joe knew the Decaydance people did some crazy things, and he knew his parents didn't exactly trust him not to be influenced by them, which is why they made Kevin come even though he really didn't want to, even though he didn't like Pete as much as Joe did. What really confused Joe was that their parents seemed to think it was some sort of punishment to hang out together.

Still, he couldn't help but be a little resentful, just as a gut reflex, until they actually got to Pete's house, at which point he was in Heaven. Not literally, he reminded himself, because most of these people probably wouldn't be there, but it was an appropriate metaphor. He patted Kevin on the back to reassure him, before running off to find Pete. Kevin barely resisted the urge to yell after him to watch his drink, mostly because he knew Joe wasn't actually as stupid as their parents seemed to think. If Joe got drunk, it would be on purpose.

Nick, meanwhile, had disappeared. Kevin's frantic search ended in the kitchen, where he found Nick talking with Patrick Stump, Pete's band's lead singer. Kevin sighed, shaking his head. Let it never be said that Nick didn't have ambition. Unfortunately, this left Kevin with no lifeline, so he was reduced to standing by the front door, horribly out of place in this house full of people with tattoos and alcohol and recording contracts not based on their family-friendly image. He wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there, casting around in what he knew was a vain hope for a familiar face, when a voice to his right startled him.

"You're a Jonas." This statement of the obvious came from a man who was obviously well on his way to being drunk, and Kevin sighed.

"Yes, I am." His mother had raised him to be nice to people who annoyed him, so he uncrossed his arms and turned to face the man. "Kevin Jonas, nice to meet you. And you are?"

The man looked at him for a moment, tilting his head. "Mike. Carden." He held out a hand, and Kevin took it, surprised. "Sorry if this is rude, I'm kinda drunk, but what the hell are you doing here?"

Kevin frowned. "I'm not sure being drunk is a good excuse for rudeness. If you know you're rude when you're drunk, maybe you shouldn't drink."

Mike stared at him for a beat before laughing. "You know, Jonas, you may just be right." He dropped Kevin's hand – Kevin realising with a start that he had still been holding it – and leaned against the wall. "So, in the interests of… I guess politeness, why are you here? It's not exactly your scene, is it?"

Kevin couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Not really, but I have to keep an eye on Joe and Nick." He paused, glancing over to the kitchen to make sure he could still see Nick sitting at the table. "Considering Joe's probably wherever Pete is, I don't think I'm doing such a good job with that."

Mike cringed. "Yeah, that maybe wasn't the smartest." He followed Kevin's line of sight to the curly-haired kid in the kitchen and smirked. "What, uh, what are _they_ doing here, though? Pete actually got his claws in Disney?"

"What? Oh, no, hah. Joe just gets really excited when people pay attention to him, and Pete…" Kevin shook his head. "Pete probably thinks it's some big joke, bringing those Jonas boys to a party like this. What-" he stopped, rubbing his eyes. "Why do you care?" His eyes widened. "Ohmigosh, I'm sorry, there's not even an alcohol excuse for that!"

Mike laughed. At great length. "That's what you think is rude?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Anyone ever tell you that's adorable?" Kevin opened his mouth to protest, but Mike cut him off, leaning closer. "I'm not some creep, you know. Don't listen to Bill, he's full of lies. I'm just interested is all."

Kevin nodded slowly, more lost than ever and wishing Mike would step back, or at least arrange his mouth so he wasn't exhaling alcohol right in Kevin's face. "It's probably a good idea to avoid asking why you're interested, I guess. I mean, I don't know Bill, but you clearly have something to hide if you're warning me in advance." He grinned, hoping that came across as the joke he'd meant it to be, and was relieved when Mike laughed again. He wondered briefly if the approval of a drunk person really meant anything in terms of humour, but decided against thinking too hard about it. "So, what do you do?" He rolled his eyes at himself. "I mean, you're in a band, I guess, or you probably wouldn't be here?" He waited for Mike's amused nod and continued: "But what do you- I mean, what do you do _in_ the band?"

Mike, who had waited patiently for the flood of words to stop, pushed himself away from the wall where he'd been leaning. "I play guitar. And write, when Bill can bring himself to let go of the pen."

Kevin gasped. "Me too! Well, I play guitar, Nick mostly writes."

"Wait." Mike furrowed his brow. "You Disney kids write your own songs?" He shook his head. "Wow, did not expect that."

Kevin frowned, but was saved from having to reply by Pete coming up behind Mike, with Joe following behind him. Noting Kevin's worried glance, Joe laughed. "Don't worry, I watched my drink. _Mom._ "

Pete grinned, which did not at all impress Kevin, because he preferred people to be a little more interested in keeping his _underage brother_ sober. Still, he forced a smile. "Thank you for having, us, Pete," he said, aware that he sounded absurd in this context but sticking to his manners in the absence of any idea how to act in this situation. "I think we'd better be leaving pretty soon, though."

"Aw, why? You just got here?" Pete swung his arm around Kevin's shoulders. "You look like you're getting along with Mike, you know? I bet you two have all kinds of stuff in common."

"We both play guitar." Mike interjected.

"See? You both play guitar! You should stay and talk about that. Besides, your other brother's pretty deep in conversation with Patrick over there, it'd be a shame to interrupt them."

Kevin followed Pete's pointing finger and saw that, indeed, Nick was still in the kitchen. Deciding against turning into his mother, Kevin resisted the urge to pull out his cell and call Nick to tell him it was time to go. Instead he sighed, heading over himself. A glance behind him showed that Joe and Pete had stayed with Mike near the door, but that was probably better.

To his surprise, however, Nick jumped up from the table as Kevin approached. His eyes were shining, and to someone who hadn't known him his whole life it might have appeared that he was intoxicated. Kevin knew this look, though. It was the look of a person who had found someone with whom to discuss music at his own level.

"Kevin! Have you met Patrick?"

Kevin shook his head as Patrick likewise stood up and offered a hand.

"Patrick Stump, Fall Out Boy. Nick tells me you play guitar?"

Kevin took the proffered hand and shook it briefly. "Yeah, but so does Nick. He's better than I am honestly." He paused. "I don't mean to cut things short, but Nick and I really have to get home soon."

Patrick waved a hand. "Oh sure, no problem. I remember what that's like. Hey, and-" he grasped Kevin's arm, "-don't worry, he didn't drink anything with booze or sugar in it. He told me why you were worried about that."

Kevin was oddly charmed, and almost felt bad pulling Nick away from the conversation, but they really had to get home. As the two of them headed for the door, Mike approached and pulled Kevin aside.

"So, people tell me I'm not the best at that first impression thing, but you seem surprisingly cool for Disney. We should hang out sometime. If you think your management can stand that."

Kevin stared for a beat before nodding slowly. "Yeah, sure. I mean, my management's basically my dad, so." _Stupid, stupid! Why did you mention that?_ "I mean, it's not like he can stop me from hanging out with people."

"Awesome." Mike smiled without a hint of sarcasm, and Kevin was startled at how green his eyes were when he was happy. "So, right, numbers. I guess I could just write it on your hand?"

"Yeah, that'd probably work." Kevin fumbled in his pocket for a pen, but was cut short when Pete held one out between them.

"In the interests of making this more concise?"

Mike glared, but grabbed the pen. He scribbled his number on Kevin's hand, pressing perhaps harder than was strictly necessary, before handing the pen to Kevin and offering his own hand. Kevin wrote his own number, but before he could pull away Mike grabbed his writing hand and pulled him into an awkward side-hug.

"Here's hoping you still think I'm interesting when I'm sober, right?"

Kevin smiled, handed Pete beck his pen, and grabbed Joe's wrist to ensure he actually left the party. Nick, he trusted; Joe, not so much. The next day he had all but forgotten the strange encounter, until his mom called him downstairs with the news that someone named Mike was on the phone and asking for him.

Ever since then, despite an apparent lack of anything in common, Kevin and Mike had taken time to hang out whenever they were in the same part of the country. If they were shooting in L.A., Mike came to visit them when he was in the city visiting Pete, and they both made time to visit if their tours took them near each other's cities.

~~~

"So, yeah, that's pretty much it. I have no idea why they get along, but they do." Joe leaned back, and Danielle swatted at his leg to keep him from putting a foot on the coffee table.

"So Mike's band is in town tonight, huh? I'd really like to meet him. I mean, if he and Kevin are such good friends."

"Yyyyeah, that's the thing, Dani." Joe sat up. "I don't know if you'd like him. I don't even know why _Kevin_ likes him, but he… drinks. A lot. And smokes. And doesn't really shower when he's on tour, according to Kevin." He shook his head. "I mean, that's pretty standard for touring musicians who aren't, like, us, I mean it's not like they have their parents with them reminding them to brush their teeth three times a day…" Joe's voice descended into a growl, and he cleared his throat. "Point is, I don't know. I'm sure he'd love to meet you, though. I mean, who wouldn't?"

Dani thought about that for a moment, before nodding firmly and standing up. "I'll ask Kevin when he gets back. Right now I need to get ready for the day, though, so I'll leave you alone for a while. If Kevin's not back by two, though, I'm going to have to kick you out so you can go back to your own home." She grinned. "I'll make him call you about going to that show, OK? I'd like to go, too." With that, she headed back upstairs to get dressed

Joe, just as soon as he was unsupervised, put his feet up on the coffee table.

~~~

Kevin arrived home at a little after half past two, tossing his keys in the dish by the door. Danielle emerged from the kitchen, where she had been making a sandwich, and kissed him on the cheek. "Joe stopped by while you were out; he wanted to know about the possibility of going to Mike's show tonight. What would you like for lunch, or did you eat?" She headed back to the kitchen, Kevin trailing behind her.

"Um, thanks, but no, we already… you and Joe talked about Mike, huh? What'd he say?"

"Oh, just how the two of you met at one of Pete Wentz's parties. I didn't know you hung out with that crowd."

"Uh, well, I don't really, it's more Joe's thing. So he said he wants to go to the show?"

"Yeah, I told him I'd have you ask Mike about it. Is that OK?" She turned from the counter, having arranged her sandwich on a plate. "Come to think of it, I'd kind of like to go, too. Just to see what they're like, you know? And maybe meet this Mike guy you've told me nothing about." She grinned as she brushed past him with her plate, heading for the adjoining dining room as Kevin followed her once again.

"I honestly don't know how well that'd work out, Dani. Mike's… I don't know if you'd like him. I mean I'm sure he'd love you, all smart people do, but he's… not exactly family-friendly."

Danielle laughed. "Are you serious? Why would that matter to me? Funny thing is, that's just about what Joe said, which means you boys don't know me very well. I'm not gonna get offended by swearing or the fact that he probably hasn't showered recently. I know not everyone can be Jonases, sadly." She smiled to show him she was joking before taking a bite of her sandwich. Kevin, correctly taking that as a signal that the conversation was over, went to call Mike about maybe getting them in, and the possibility of Danielle meeting him afterwards.

~~~

In the end, Joe, Kevin, and Dani ended up going to the show. Nick declared his utter disinterest in spending an evening surrounded by drunken idiots, mom and dad agreed, and Frankie wasn't even consulted, so the three headed off. The drive over consisted primarily of Joe leaning up from the back seat of Kevin's car to regale Danielle with "interesting" facts about Pete Wentz and Decaydance in general, and of Kevin shaking his head.

The show itself was pretty great, in Kevin's admittedly biased opinion. Mike was fantastic, as always, and he and Bill put on a great stage show. Kevin was still a little nervous around Michael Guy, for some reason, but he had to admit the man was talented. Butcher was of course a madman, and Siska (Kevin still wasn't sure of his first name) was pretty good, he supposed – Kevin didn't really know much about the bass, so he wasn't the best judge. Danielle even seemed to enjoy herself, despite Kevin's mid-show worries about her reactions to some of the "bromance", as Mike had called it, aspects. Bill licking Mike's cheek, for example, surely wasn't required, and couldn't he stop winding the mic cord around Mike's neck? Still, a good time was had by all, notwithstanding Kevin's nervousness about the pending introduction.

After the show, and after the fans drifted away from the parking lot where Bill was signing autographs, he brought Kevin and Danielle back to the bus. Joe tagged along, which annoyed Kevin for no good reason, but he didn't mind enough to say anything about it. Besides, if precedent was any indication, Siska and Butcher would already be settling down in the lounge for a post-show round of video games, and Kevin had no qualms about suggesting that Joe join them there.

Kevin felt a little awkward being herded into the bus like – he struggled to think of a different simile, but none came to mind – a groupie or something, but his discomfort ebbed upon seeing Mike. His first instinct was to rush up to Mike and hug him, but the eyebrow Mike had already raised told him that such an action would most likely be seen as strange. He settled for moving to the side and not-so-subtly gesturing that Joe should go elsewhere in the bus, which he did after only the most cursory of eyerolls. Whatever, Joe knew how infrequent Mike's visits were, he could deal with being forced to play video games for a while.

Bill, meanwhile, stayed right where he was, hands on his hips and an amused grin on his face. "So this is the new Mrs. Jonas, huh? Nice to meet you," he said, offering a hand to Danielle, who took it cautiously. "I'm William Beckett, but feel free to call me whatever you want." He winked at her, but Mike – doing what Kevin would never have dared – jabbed him in the side and glared. "Ow! What? I was just introducing myself to the completely unavailable woman. As you do."

Mike rolled his eyes, turning towards Danielle. "Sorry about him, there's something wrong with him." He shot a look at Bill. "Don't you have something else you could be doing?"

Bill leaned against the bunks, seemingly unperturbed. " _Could_ be doing? Probably. But why would I, when I have this delightful scene?"

Mike laughed, despite himself, and turned determinedly away from him and back towards Kevin and Danielle. "So! Now that that weirdo can be safely ignored, how have you been? I mean, I haven't seen Kevin here since the wedding, and I never got to meet you at all, so… yeah, 'How've you been' seems to cover it."

Kevin, taking confused note of the unusual lack of profanity in Mike's conversation, noticed Bill looking at them speculatively. He frowned and directed his gaze back to Mike. "Well, I mean, I haven't been doing much, lately, 'cause Nick's still working on his own thing and we can't really tour without him, but that means Dani and I get to spend more time together!"

Bill, still hovering, raised an eyebrow, but Mike just smiled. "That must be nice, having time to yourselves. So, uh, Dani?" Danielle nodded her approval of the nickname, and he continued: "What do you do? Are you a musician too?"

"Oh, no!" Dani giggled. "No, I can't play at all, unfortunately. I'm a hairdresser. Well, I'm actually not working right now, but I'm hoping to get another opportunity now that I've settled down."

Mike nodded contemplatively, and the three of them continued making small talk while Bill – along with Michael Guy, who it turned out had been attempting to sleep in his bunk – very conspicuously joined Joe, Butcher, and Siska in the lounge. Mike and Danielle seemed to get along, and were in the midst of a conversation about their favorite books when Kevin got a call from Nick, informing him that Joe wasn't answering his phone and needed to get home before Mom and Dad started worrying. Why their parents had decided to appoint Nick the arbiter of curfew Kevin had never been sure, but he promised he'd have Joe home right away. Snapping his phone shut, he turned back to Danielle and Mike.

"I really hate to do this, but Joe needs to get home before our parents start freaking out."

Mike laughed quietly in seeming disbelief, with which Kevin sympathized. "OK, I guess I've kept you two long enough anyway. It was very nice to meet you, Dani," he said, holding out his hand again, but Danielle surprised him and Kevin both by rolling her eyes and hugging him. He slowly put his arms around her, raising his eyebrows at Kevin, who smiled.

"It was nice to meet you too, Mike. You seem interesting, and I'm glad my husband has such a good friend. For future reference, though, you're allowed to swear around me. I'm not going to faint or something." She smiled sweetly, and Kevin was reminded of just how much he loved her.

"Duly noted." Mike offered a smile of his own before turning to Kevin and pulling him into a hug. Kevin smiled broadly and hugged him back, making sure to pull away before Mike did so as not to seem awkward. It had taken him only a few embarrassing conversations to realise that not everyone hugged the way he and his brothers did.

Kevin collected Joe from the lounge and they left, but not before Mike extorted a promise that Kevin would do everything he could to make sure their next tour went through Chicago. Bill waved at them as they pulled away.

~~~

In the following month, Nick's Administration tour got off the ground and wrapped up, with Kevin and Joe going to as many of the dates as they could. Mike surprised Kevin by showing up to the LA date, the second-to-last of the tour. He tactfully avoided the subject of Nick's music, choosing instead to regale Kevin with stories of how _boring_ life was without him and "that face you make like you think you should be offended but you're not sure why".

The months after that were generally uneventful, with sporadic visits to and from LA, Chicago, and Westlake. Dani came with Kevin more often than not, and she and Mike seemed to have hit it off. Kevin was of course pleased by this development, because he wasn't sure what he would have done otherwise. Almost before they knew it, it seemed, they had started rehearsals for their next tour.

Danielle was there almost every day, and Demi came to visit when her shooting schedule allowed. Kevin couldn't help but be relieved that they'd given up on their plans to put on a Camp Rock Tour – he'd never been sure it was as good an idea as Dad had seemed to think – but he knew Joe and Nick would miss having their best friend around to support them like this. Kevin was lucky, of course, in that he had _married_ his best friend, but even she wouldn't be able to come on tour with them. She'd gotten another job as a hairstylist, and simply couldn't afford to take that much time off work, especially so near the beginning of her employment.

So Dani and Demi wouldn't be coming along, which was unfortunate for all involved, but a new development had just cropped up – one that made Kevin very happy, and his parents more than a little concerned. The Academy Is… weren't on tour or writing at the moment, and had no plans to be for rather a while, so Bill had graciously granted Mike permission to join Kevin on the North American part of the tour. Mike was pretty sure Bill was only being so nice right now because he knew he was guaranteed mocking privileges for months (if not years) afterwards, but he brushed that off in favour of asking Kevin if he'd mind.

"I mean, I know it'd probably be weird, do your parents even know who I am?"

Kevin laughed. "Probably not, but that doesn't really matter at this point. If you want to come, I'd love to have you! And- and Joe and Nick, they'd love to have you too."

"I'm sure."

Kevin could all but hear Mike's smirk, and it occurred to him that it was probably not normal for one person to put so much sarcasm in his statements that the other person could hear his expressions through the phone. Or maybe it was just that Kevin knew him too well. Both thoughts were somewhat frightening.

Mom and Dad were less than enthused about Mike's presence, but Kevin assured them they could take the extra costs out of his cut and he and Mike could share rooms, so it wasn't even terribly inconvenient. Mostly, he thought, they didn't want their sons to fall under the influence of this weird Chicagoan with terrifying eyes and a tendency to go alarmingly long between showers. Kevin couldn't exactly blame them for that, but neither could he seem to make them understand that there was _more_ to Mike. He was funny, and surprisingly sweet, and he took care of his friends like… well, like a Chicagoan, if Kevin were to believe everything he had read when he was ten and obsessed with the Mafia.

Still, his parents weren't really in a position to make decisions for their 22-year-old son, no matter how much they grumbled, so Mike came along on the tour. The paparazzi and youth press were understandably confused, but over all they didn't pay him much attention. When they did, it was mostly along the lines of:

"Mike, what are you doing?"

"Mike, how did you and Kevin meet?"

"Excuse me, but who are you?"

Far more common were questions directed at Kevin as he attempted to walk quickly from one site to another, questions such as:

"Kevin, how's Danielle?"

"Do you miss her?"

"Is she pregnant yet?"

Kevin smiled tightly when they asked those sorts of questions, barreling ahead with no comment, but once the cameras were out of sight his smile dropped into a hard-lipped look of what might have been mistaken for anger by someone who didn't know how fastidiously good natured he was.

Dad instructed him in no uncertain terms to ignore such vulgar people, hinting that they would get their just desserts in the next life. Mom, meanwhile, _gently suggested_ that he ignore such vulgar people, hinting that, nevertheless, it really was about time she got a grandchild over whom to dote. Nick, who had been dodging invasive questions longer than any of them, tried to convince Kevin that the best course of action was the steely glare. Kevin refrained from reminding his brother that Nick and Dad were the only ones in the family who had ever perfected such a glare, while Kevin – and even Joe – were more likely to sit in silence until the question was retracted or rephrased.

Joe, of course, approached the problem in his own special way: by asking Kevin if he and Danielle were using birth control. Kevin gave him his best shot at a Nick-glare, but Joe just laughed, patted him on the shoulder, and told him to "be safe." Kevin fumed. As if it was the business of his little brother to know if he and his wife were aiming for a child! In fact, they _were_ using birth control, for the most part, but it was none of Joe's business. Dani simply didn't feel she was ready for children yet, and Kevin respected her wishes.

Mike, meanwhile, offered to walk with Kevin as a sort of bodyguard against invasive questions like that. After having seen what some members of the press said to Bill when they found out he had a wife and child, he knew the power of a well-placed glower. This, he explained to Kevin, differed from a glare in its implied promise of subsequent violence. Nevertheless, Kevin declined. If Big Rob wasn't enough to keep the idiots at bay, he wasn't sure what one – admittedly scary, but also scrawny – man could do. Mike conceded the point, but continued to rub Kevin's back until he felt he was in a state to interact with people again.

The tour progressed smoothly. Mike did his very best to ingratiate himself to Kevin's parents, and they gradually warmed to him – even going so far as to stop grumbling when they couldn't find Kevin, knowing that he was likely with Mike somewhere and accepting that this meant he wasn't in danger. Kevin called Dani every day and texted her far more often, while Mike fielded regular calls from Bill – calls that began with mockery but quickly segued into questions about what it was like to be on tour with people who didn't do any of the things that made touring fun. Sometimes Mike and Kevin switched phones, so Dani could make sure Mike was taking good care of her husband while Bill told Kevin in no uncertain terms that if Mike was humming Disney songs by the end of the tour he would personally ruin Kevin's life.

And so all was well and everyone happy until, a week or so into the tour, Joe forgot his sunglasses in his bunk. Not such a noteworthy occurrence, except that, upon reentering the bus, he found Kevin and Mike. Standing in the aisle. Kissing.

Joe, who had been about to text Nick to see if he had taken the shades, dropped his cell phone. The clatter startled Mike and Kevin into looking up, at which point they each stepped back as far as the narrow aisle allowed. Joe just looked at them, not willing to admit what he'd just seen but equally unwilling to leave the matter alone. Luckily, after about ten seconds of increasingly awkward silence Mike cleared his throat and spoke.

"OK, so that probably looked weird, but we weren't doing what… it looked like we were doing." He glanced at Kevin, who was still staring at Joe in terror, before continuing. "We were just talking, but you know how narrow these aisles are, and this one's a lot narrower than I'm used to-" He faltered, sighing "You're not buying any of this, are you?"

Joe shook his head, glaring.

"It'd probably help if I wasn't holding his hand, huh?"

Joe nodded.

"Yeah, I thought so." He nodded, resigned. "Damage control mode works better when your label encourages stuff like this."

Joe's glare did not lessen in the least. Mike's jokes were not appreciated. Kevin, sensing this, snapped out of his daze and laid a hand on Mike's shoulder. "Mike, I think you should go. Just… I'll call you or something, OK? Don't go far."

Mike left, brushing past Joe. Joe didn't quite growl at him, but it was a close thing, and would have been closer were Mike not quite so terrifying. Once the bus door slammed however, he turned back to his brother with rage in his eyes.

"What the _Hell_ do you think you're doing?"

"Joe, I promise it's not what you think, I'm not even gay, it's just that he-"

Joe laughed scornfully. "Right, it's just that he attacked you with his lips."

"What? No, of course not. I'm serious, Joe, you-"

"Are you kidding? I don't care that you're gay or bi or whatever, I care that you're _cheating on Danielle!_ "

Kevin was taken aback. "Cheating? I'm not cheating, how could I cheat on her?"

Now it was Joe's turn to be confused. "What, so she's OK with you just making out with your friends whenever you feel like it?"

Kevin frowned. "Of course not. That'd be weird." He shook his head, as if to clear it. "No, it's just Mike."

Joe stared.

"What?"

"You're kidding, right? I mean, you don't really expect me to believe this, do you?"

Kevin blinked. "Why wouldn't you? I don't lie, Joe. You know that."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Right, so you just _happened_ to be keeping this a secret?"

"Well, _yeah!_ I mean, look how you're reacting! And you're a lot more understanding than Mom and Dad; I mean, they wouldn't even have gotten past the 'Oh my God our son's gay' thing."

"But… you're not, right? I mean, bi, whatever, but you still like Dani too."

Kevin simply nodded, happy at least that his brother was beginning to calm down and ease away from the accusations.

"So, how- how did it happen?" Joe waved his hand. "Well, not 'it', I don't need that, but… seriously, what the heck?"

Kevin took a deep breath. "So you know we met at Pete's party, right?" Joe nodded irritably, so Kevin rushed on. "Well, I didn't think we had much in common, but then he called me and asked if I wanted to hang out, so we did. And then we started hanging out more, and we got to be pretty good friends, and that was great, because, you know, he's awesome, plus he's nothing like Mom and Dad, which made for a nice change of pace. And then Dani and I got married, which, y'know, you already know that."

Joe rolled his eyes, supremely unamused by Kevin's diversions.

"And it took a while, but I realised I felt pretty much the same way about Mike that I did about Danielle, only he's a guy so I figured it was just… I don't know, a man-crush or whatever they're called. But… it wasn't. I'm pretty sure you don't want the details of how I figured that out, but as soon as I did, I told Dani." Kevin fell silent, remembering that day.

~~~

"I'm so sorry, I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but you deserve to know. I haven't been a Christian husband to you. I've… I've committed adultery in my heart. I'm so sorry, I never meant to look at anyone else, but he's-" He froze, aware that he'd said even more than he'd intended, but continued. "He's just _there_ , oh God, Dani, I'm so sorry."

He closed his eyes, bracing himself for what he was sure was her inevitable rage, but found himself startled by the touch of her lips to his forehead. He looked up, meeting her sad gaze. At least… he'd expected it to be sad, and he knew he would have only himself to blame in that case, but… her expression wasn't particularly sad. Had he been in a mood to analyze it, he would have categorized it as "thoughtful".

"Thank you for telling me, Kevin. This is a lot to take in, but honesty is so important in a marriage – just like in any relationship! – and I'm glad you respect me enough to tell me things like this." She smiled. "It's always nice for a woman to know she can trust her husband."

Kevin bowed his head. "Sarcasm. I deserve that. I'm so sorry, Dani, I really am."

Danielle tilted her head. "I'm not being sarcastic! I can trust you to tell me about feelings like these before you act on them, and that's incredibly reassuring. Now we can work together to figure out what to do." She thought for a moment, then laughed. "One thing, though. While I always appreciate Biblical phrasing, I'm not sure this counts as committing adultery in your heart. Isn't it something other than adultery if it's sanctioned?"

Kevin looked up, confused but nonetheless panicked. "What?"

"Do you love me, Kevin?"

"Of course! God, I don't know what I'd do without you, I–"

She cut him off with a finger to his mouth. "And I love you. So much. Now, do you love _him?_ "

Kevin deflated. "I… I don't know. I swear, Dani, I don't know. I don't want to, but…" He hung his head again.

Danielle knelt in front of him, tilting his head up so that he could no longer avoid her gaze. " _It's OK_ , Kevin. I'm just glad you were honest with me, so we can work something out with Mike."

Kevin's head shot up. "Mike? What- I didn't-"

Danielle laughed, softly. "I _know_ you, Kevin. He's all you talk about lately. I told you, I don't mind. If I did, I would have said something! But now that we both know that we both know, like I said, we can work something out."

"Anything, I promise. I'll stop hanging out with him, I'll… whatever you want, honestly."

"Kevin!" Danielle stood up, annoyed. "Are you even listening to me? Stand up, come on." She tugged at his shoulders until he stood. "What part of 'it's OK' are you just not getting? _I don't mind,_ Kevin. How could I claim to be a Christian and not nurture love? You love me, right?" She stared at Kevin until he nodded fearfully, then continued. "And you love him. Don't deny it, for goodness' sake! I'm not trying to trap you! You love him, and you love me. Those things aren't actually in conflict." She rolled her eyes fondly, shaking her head at her husband's innocence. "You can have us both, is what I'm saying."

Kevin stared at her, more baffled than before. "I can… what? How does… _what?_ "

Dani's smile was a full-on smirk by this time, but she kept her voice gentle. "You. Can be. With both of us. I know this isn't what you expected when you told me, but I'd think at least you'd be happy about it?"

"No, I… I mean, I will be… I _might_ be, once I understand what's going on! Are you actually saying you don't mind if I lo- _like_ Mike?"

"Now you've got it!" She leaned in quickly, catching him off-guard with a kiss. "As long as you keep being honest with me, and as long as you can keep the two relationships equal, you have my blessing."

Kevin, still by default suspecting a trick somewhere, was cautious. "You wouldn't get jealous? Seriously?"

Danielle laughed brightly. "Not so much, no." She sat back down on the couch, pulling him down to sit next to her "It's not like love is a limited resource, Kevin. You're clearly capable of loving us both, and I _know_ you: you're one of the most selfless people I've ever met, and I trust you to continue being honest with both of us. It's OK. I promise."

Kevin leaned against her, amazed. "I love you so much, Dani. Not just because of this – I love you more than anyone I've ever known. I have no idea what I did to deserve you."

Danielle smiled, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead. "You were yourself. That's amazing enough."

They sat there together, silently, for a few minutes, until Kevin made a noise of discontent. "So now I just have to trick him into liking me."

Danielle rolled her eyes and tapped him on the head. "You don't need to trick him, honey. If he has brains at all, he already knows how wonderful you are. If he doesn't like you, he's not worthy of you."

"You have to say that, you're biased." Kevin frowned, pulling away to look at her. "Besides how do you know he's even… gay or bi or whatever?"

"You're kidding, right?" Danielle laughed. "Were you on the same bus I was? He and Mister Call-Me-Whatever-You-Want were clearly together at some point. You don't get that kind of clingy co-dependency without _something_ to back it up." She thought for a moment, "Well, not in people who aren't related, at least."

Kevin, whose own mind had jumped to Nick and Joe, was grateful for this clarification. Still… "But even if you're right, which I'm not saying you are, it's not like I'm gonna just ask him if he likes me. I mean, his friendship matters to me, you know? And if he doesn't like me like that things'll be ruined for nothing."

"Oh, honey." Danielle stood up, pulling him with her, and hugged him close. "Leave that to me."

~~~

Kevin cleared his throat, looking nervously at Joe. "So… that's how that worked out. And then-"

Joe held up a hand. "Wait a minute. You really expect me to believe that?"

"Well, yeah. Haven't we been over the not-lying thing?" Kevin dug his phone out of his pocket and offered it to Joe. "Here, call her. Ask her if I'm telling the truth, she'll tell you."

Joe raised a skeptical eyebrow, but took the phone and dialed Danielle's number. "Hey, Dani? It's Joe. Yeah, so I'm not really sure how to say this, but Kevin told me to call you and make sure you're really OK with him making out with Mike Carden. … What, seriously? … You're sure? … No, OK, I'm sorry. So do you, like, have another boyfriend too? … Right, not my business, you're right, sorry. Huh, well, OK. I guess that's all I wanted to know, d'you wanna talk to Kevin?"

He handed the phone to Kevin, who took it gladly, though not before sticking his tongue out at his brother. What, he'd just had his fidelity confirmed, he was allowed a childish gesture.

"Hey, baby, thanks for that."

"No problem, hon. How'd he find out?"

"Mike and I were… kinda kissing on the bus."

"What!?"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want. At least we weren't doing anything worse." At this, Kevin shot a glance at Joe, who commenced pointedly ignoring the rest of the conversation.

"This is true, but you know you've gotta be grateful it was Joe and not one of your parents."

"Ugh, I know, right?" Kevin shook his head in exasperation at himself. "I'm gonna have to be a lot more careful."

Dani made a smug noise that Kevin interpreted as confirmation, before giggling. "Oh, sorry, hon, Riley's dancing around, I'd better let her out. You call me later, all right?"

"I will. I love you, Dani."

"I love you too, Kevin. Don't ever forget that."

After an extended exchange of goodbyes, during which Kevin could hear Riley barking, they hung up their respective phones. Kevin crossed his arms and looked at Joe, who stared back with an inscrutable expression on his face.

"This is weird." Kevin made as if to speak, but Joe held up a hand – "No, I mean, whatever works for you, and at least you're not cheating. It's just weird."

Kevin sighed and nodded, grateful that Joe at least believed him. It sucked that Joe wasn't more OK with their situation, but he could hardly blame him.

Joe turned to leave, then turned back. "Mike Carden? Seriously?" He grinned. "You couldn't find someone who doesn't want to eat your soul?"

Kevin adopted a defensive posture, before laughing. "You know what? I don't think I'm gonna answer that. I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear it."

Joe burst out with a shocked laugh before grabbing his sunglasses from his bunk and turning out again. "Come on, Dad's probably freaking about the schedule."

Kevin's eyes went wide and panicked for a moment, and he laid a hand on Joe's arm. "Can I just confirm that you're not gonna tell him and Mom?"

"Oh gosh, of course I won't!" Joe shook his head. "Can you imagine? No, man, your secret's safe with me." He paused. "And maybe Nick."

Kevin choked, suddenly. "Um, about that. Could you maybe… not? Or at least let me tell him?"

Joe nodded, considering. "That's probably a good idea. I'd probably get stuff wrong, you know how I am."

"Yes, I do. Which is why it'd probably help if you were there anyway, honestly. You're pretty much the only person who can make Nick calm down if he gets upset."

"Oh, don't worry about it! I mean, I'll be there, sure, but he won't get upset." Joe, by this time halfway down the bus's steps, turned and shot a grin up at Kevin. "It's not _that_ weird, you know?"

They ran into Dad on the way back into the venue, but Kevin assured him that they had just been looking for his sunglasses and the delay was in no way Joe's fault. Joe shot him a grateful glance as they passed, but it was the least Kevin could do for him in return for keeping his secret.

Mike stayed carefully out of the way until just before the show, when he found Kevin alone in the dressing room. Closing the door behind him, he nevertheless stood several feet away from Kevin just in case.

"So… is he pissed?" Kevin started to speak, but Mike barreled on. "'Cause I gotta tell you, I'd be pissed if I saw Bill going at it with someone who wasn't Christine, and he's not even my brother." He thought for a moment. "I mean, I guess like Gabe or something would be OK, that's just them, but that's not the point."

Kevin couldn't help but laugh. "No, it's really not, is it? And don't worry, he's fine. I explained about Dani and the whole deal. He thinks it's weird, but apparently it's 'not _that_ weird', whatever that's supposed to mean." As Kevin indicated the air-quotes around Joe's words, Mike stepped closer and took his hands.

"So he's OK with it? I mean, enough that he's not gonna tell anyone?"

Kevin nodded frantically, aware that that would have been Mike's greatest concern, especially when "anyone" could include Kevin's parents. "Oh yeah, definitely, he promised not to tell anyone. Although he did ask if I could tell Nick while he was there." Kevin rushed ahead, anticipating an objection. "He says Nick'll be fine with it too, and Joe's generally the best judge of what Nick thinks, but it's up to you if you want him to know. He won't tell anyone either. He's kinda creepily good at keeping secrets."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Why am I not surprised?" He sighed, relived. "So we're good for now. You can tell him, as long as he doesn't tell his little girlfriend or whatever."

"Wait, what?"

Mike waved a hand distractedly. "You know, that girl he's always talking about. Denny or something."

Kevin stared. "Demi?"

"Demi, yeah, that's it. I knew it sounded too much like Dani. As long as he doesn't tell her, it's fine."

Kevin laughed incredulously. "But Nick and Demi aren't dating. They're just friends, them and Joe."

Mike shook his head, unconvinced. "If you say so."

"I do, yes."

At this point they were interrupted by the flashing lights that signaled five minutes to show time. Mike glanced at the door, affirming that it was still tightly closed, before leaning in to plant a kiss on Kevin's lips. He pulled back before Kevin had a chance to respond, pushing him towards the door. "Go knock 'em dead or whatever you call it when your audience is pre-teens. I'll be here."

Kevin rolled his eyes fondly, heading out the door and to the stage.

~~~

The next day was an off day, which Kevin had informed Mike meant that he was going to tell Nick. He suggested that Mike be elsewhere for the duration of the conversation, just in case. Mike nodded, wished him luck, kissed him goodbye, and went off to find a bar. Kevin had long ago resigned himself to Mike's drinking habits, a resignation made easier by Mike's promise never to be drunk while Kevin was in the room. It wasn't like Kevin thought Mike was a bad person for drinking, but he couldn't get past his conviction that alcohol was not for him, and that he had no desire to be around people whose judgments were impaired.

Kevin eventually managed, with Joe's help, to get Nick into a study room at a nearby library branch – a study room with a door that locked. Joe had apparently kept his promise not to tell Nick anything until Kevin was there, because Nick was predictably disgruntled at having been dragged away from whatever he had planned to do that day. Joe held his wrist to keep him from leaving in exasperation.

"Calm down, will you? Kevin has something to tell you."

Nick sighed, exasperated. "Fine. OK? Fine." He turned to Kevin. "What do you have to say that's so secret we can't even be on the bus?"

Kevin took a deep breath, closing his eyes and psyching himself up. "OK, so Joe already knows about this, because he kinda… shocked it out of me, but I made him promise not to tell you, so don't be mad at him."

"O… K?" Nick furrowed his brow, visibly confused and not happy about it.

"Also, I just want to make sure you know that what I'm about to tell you is completely fine with Dani. Joe can tell you that too, he talked to her, but I want you to hear this from me."

Nick leaned back, frowning slightly. "Are you about to tell me that you and Mike are together? Because if you're not, this is a waste of a set-up."

Joe and Kevin both stared at him, open-mouthed. "You-" Kevin stammered, "You already knew?"

Now it was Nick's turn to be shocked. "What, you're serious?" He threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, that's great!" Looking at Joe and Kevin's faces, he calmed himself. "What? I'm serious, good for you. He's not exactly my favourite person, but I guess you like him for some reason, so I'm not sure why I shouldn't be happy you're together. I mean, you said Dani's fine with it, right?" He shot a narrow-eyed glance at Kevin, who nodded. "Good." He grinned at Joe. "I mean, not like I have any room to judge weirdness, right?"

Kevin frowned at Joe's panicked face, but decided to put it aside. " I gotta say, you're taking this a lot better than Joe did."

"Hey now," Joe protested, "you didn't warn me first! You try walking in on me making out with someone who's not my girlfriend and see how you handle it!" He paused, thinking. "Actually, don't try that. It'd be weird for everyone, especially since I don't do that."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Just stop talking, Joe." He turned back to Kevin. "Yeah, I mean, it's not exactly _usual_ , but who cares, right? As long as you're all happy, and the general public never finds out, good for y'all."

Joe leaned back, smirking. "OK, so explain to me how the two of you actually got together, will you? Because I'm trying to imagine you seducing someone and it's too hilarious for words."

Kevin laughed abruptly, not sure whether he could really be angry when he knew what Joe said was true. "Seriously? That's your opening gambit?"

Nick hit Joe on the arm, rolling his eyes.

"Ow! Gah, Nicky, what was that for?"

"Be nice to him if you want him to tell us anything, that's what it was for. Besides, you know what I could say about you."

Joe held up his hands in mock-panic. "OK, jeez! Sorry, Kev, I didn't meant it." He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. "Tell us? Please?"

Kevin rolled his eyes, but began.

~~~

A few days after his confession, Danielle surprised Kevin with the news that Mike would be having dinner at their house that night. Apparently she had checked to make sure he wasn't on tour before offering to fly him down. The excuse she had given Mike was that she had only met him once and wanted to get to know him better, but Kevin was fairly convinced of her true motives.

"What were you _thinking_ , Dani? Are you seriously trying to set us up? I mean, you know this is crazy, right? What, I'm just gonna sit across from him and he's gonna fall for me. I'm pretty sure that's not how it works!"

Dani pulled him down to sit next to her on their bed. " _Relax_ , Kevin. It'll be fine! We can talk like reasonable people, and just see what happens." Before Kevin had time to react, she'd climbed onto the bed behind him and begun working the tension out of his shoulders. He relaxed against her, sighing.

"I hope you're right, Dani."

"Don't worry, I am." She laid a trail of kisses down his neck, but stopped when the doorbell rang. "Oh! That must be him!" She jumped off the bed, scrambling for her shoes. "Come on, come downstairs! You want to make a good impression, right?"

Kevin stood up, sighing. "He already knows me, honey. It's not like anything I do today is gonna skew him one way or the other."

Danielle paused at the door, looking back. "You never know until you try, do you?" With that, she headed down the stairs.

Kevin shook his head. There was no way this was going to go well. Mustering his resolve, he headed downstairs too, reaching the bottom just as Danielle opened the front door.

"Mike! How are you doing?"

Mike pulled her into a hug, chuckling. "I'm pretty sure my ears are still ringing from Bill's mockery, but it's good to see you anyway."

Danielle laughed, waving him inside and closing the door behind him. "Don't worry, we'll make it up to you."

Later, while Kevin was in the kitchen chopping the celery for the Waldorf salad, Danielle pulled Mike into the backyard and shut the sliding door behind them. He glanced around, ready to compliment the landscaping if she asked, when she turned to face him, arms folded.

"I guess I might as well just come right out and ask you this. Mike, do you have feelings for my husband?"

Needless to say, that was not at all what Mike had been expecting. "W- what? No, why do you ask?"

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Don't play with me, Mike. I'm his wife, it's my business to know if anyone else like him too."

Mike sighed. "You're serious about this?"

"As a heart attack." Danielle nodded firmly.

Mike's eyes were now fixed on the ground, as if the answer to her question could be found there. "I hope you know I was never gonna act on it. I'm not that kind of guy." He sighed again. "I'm really sorry, but I swear I wasn't gonna do anything about it." He looked up, expecting to see judgment in her eyes – as would of course have been her right – but found instead that she was smiling.

"I'm glad you said that, Mike." She drew closer. He flinched as she extended a hand, but she only laid it on his arm. "I really am glad, because I wouldn't want Kevin's feelings for you to be unrequited."

Mike's eyes widened. "Are you shitting me? Sorry, gah, but– Jesus Christ, are you serious?"

Danielle smiled, but there was an edge to it. "I told you that you could swear in front of me. Taking the Lord's name in vain is quite a different matter."

Mike continued to be taken aback. "Sorry, but–" He paused. "OK, seriously? You're the type of lady who gets mad about that, but you're totally fine with me liking your husband? Who _are_ you?"

This time, her smile was real. "I'm a woman who knows that love isn't a limited resource, that's who I am. My relationship with Kevin isn't threatened by your feelings for each other."

"OK, so… just to be clear. You _were_ serious about Kevin liking me? Really?"

"Absolutely! I wouldn't lie about something like that, Mike. In fact, if I'm honest, most of the reason I invited you here tonight was to see if there was a chance that you and Kevin could make it work. That is, if you're OK with sharing him with me."

"What, are you kidding? Of course I'm OK with that! So does he–"

"He doesn't know we're having this talk, no. He does know I'm fine with the idea, but he's convinced you don't like him back, for some reason. Luckily, I have a plan for that." She looked around, making sure that Kevin hadn't come outside while they'd been talking, and whispered her plan in his ear just to be safe. She had high hopes for the remainder of this evening.

When Danielle and Mike reentered the kitchen, Kevin was still nervously chopping away. He'd moved on from the celery and was now working on the apples, but Danielle suspected his nervous energy had led him to prepare far more than they would need. She couldn't help but smile at how predictably adorable her husband could be. Mike, also smiling, glanced at her. She made a shooing motion, indicating that he should proceed, so he approached Kevin slowly and grabbed his shoulder. Kevin, startled, spun around, at which point Mike cupped his face in his hands and kissed him.

Kevin, whose first reaction was to freeze, quickly relaxed and returned the kiss. After a few seconds, however, he tensed up again and broke away. "What- You- What!" He looked frantically from Dani to Mike and back, and saw that his wife was smiling happily. "Did you put him up to this? Did she put you up to this?"

Mike nodded, pulling Kevin back to him. "A little." He grinned. "It didn't take much convincing, though. I mean, look at you." He made a show of pulling back and checking Kevin out, at which point Kevin blushed and stepped to the side so he could see them both.

"What- why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you're married, doofus! Why didn't _you_ say anything?"

Kevin grinned, embarrassed. "Pretty much the same reason, yeah."

Danielle didn't say anything, just crossed her arms and leaned against the doorjamb. She couldn't have hoped for a better outcome.

~~~

"I'm just gonna cut this short now, since I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear the rest." Kevin chuckled at the expressions on his brothers' faces. In point of fact, they hadn't progressed beyond kissing that night, but he was equally sure no one but himself, Dani, and Mike cared about the conversations they'd had in which they'd worked out the details of their relationship. He and his brothers sat silently for a while, before Nick spoke. "So I'm glad you're happy and everything, but… Mike Carden? Couldn't you have found someone who doesn't want to eat your soul?" Joe, laughing hysterically, held up his hand to Nick for a high five, while Kevin reached across the table to slug him in the shoulder. In the ensuing moment of silence, Nick's smug expression turned thoughtful. "Hey, uh, Joe, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, what about?"

"I mean, like, away from Kevin? Just for a little?" Nick glanced back at Kevin. "It's not about you, I promise."

Kevin shrugged, and Nick and Joe left the room. The study rooms were soundproof, so he couldn't hear what they were saying, but they also had glass walls, which did nothing to hide the fact that they were having a fairly heated discussion about _something_. Considering the veiled hints they'd been throwing at each other earlier, he had to try very hard not to wonder what they were talking about. Instead, he averted his gaze and thought back to the night everything had changed.

Mike and Danielle had agreed, almost independently, that no one else should know about Mike and Kevin. The default assumption would be that Kevin was cheating on Danielle, and none of them wanted that. Far better to present a friendship to the world, a relationship easily explained by Pete Wentz's omnipresence, and keep the non-platonic aspects strictly private. This had the added effect of not making Kevin explain his sexuality to the press, which was a definite plus to his mind, as he hadn't really figured that out for himself yet.

He'd been so certain he only liked women, but his feelings for Mike were almost exactly what he'd felt for Danielle when he'd first realised he was in love with her. His feelings for her had deepened over the course of their relationship, but he still remembered that rush of emotion when he looked at her and suddenly decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Those feelings surfaced again when he looked at Mike, and he was still having trouble reconciling that fact with his long-standing idea of himself. He'd long ago stopped thinking of homosexuality as an evil, but he couldn't understand why these desires had suddenly surfaced, or why they only seemed to apply to one man.

Mike had reassured him, with Danielle's help, that there was nothing particularly unusual about his situation. "I mean, with Bill it's different, 'cause he'll pretty much make out with anyone, but he's only really been attracted to like two guys, as far as I know. And he's married too, so it's not like he's all free-wheeling or something. He's actually pretty conservative, which is a little weird."

"Hey!" Kevin frowned. "There's nothing wrong with being conservative."

"I'm… gonna leave that conversation for another day, 'cause it wasn't my point, but sure." Mike shrugged. "Point is, he's happy with Christine, as long as he doesn't go past making out anymore, or at least tells her if he wants to. It's what works for them."

"That's what I'm saying, Kevin," Danielle broke in. "If we can arrange something like that, where I know about your relationship with Mike and I'm fine with it, you won't feel like a bad husband for liking someone else! And as long as _you_ ," she pointed at Mike, "don't try to steal him away from me or something, we'll all be fine."

"Oh, God, no!" Danielle frowned at him, and Mike sheepishly backtracked his language. "No, I wouldn't do that, I promise. Trust me, my label's weird enough that I know how these things work." He turned to Kevin. "I'm not trying to get you to leave your wife or something." He rolled his eyes. "Hell, I wasn't even gonna say anything until she asked me, so you know I'm serious."

Danielle laid a hand on Mike's arm. "I know." She turned back to Kevin. "Don't panic, OK? We'll be fine."

Kevin's train of memory was interrupted by Joe and Nick, who had locked themselves out of the study room somehow, knocking on the door. Not entirely sure he wanted to know what his brothers had been so earnestly discussing out of earshot, Kevin nevertheless opened the door for them. They sat down again, still across from him, but this time trading their own shifty looks. Kevin waited, confused, until finally Joe spoke.

"So… as long as we're doing this, Nick and I have something to tell you, too." He shot an uncertain glance at Nick, who nodded. "We're both dating Demi."

Kevin tilted his head. "You're both…"

"Dating her, yeah." Nick ducked his head, grinning. "Which is one reason your story isn't that big a deal."

Kevin stared. Blinked. And stared some more "But how- so- wait a minute, Mike was _right?_ "

Nick raised an eyebrow. "How does Mike even know who Demi is?"

Kevin stifled a laugh. "You're kidding, right? Y'all talk about her enough, I'm surprised he only thought she was _your_ girlfriend." Nick grimaced, but nodded as Kevin thought for a moment. "So, what, how long has that been going on? I mean, as long as we're sharing ridiculously involved relationship origin stories, here."

Joe giggled, at which Nick rolled his eyes and began.

~~~

Joe and Nick had been friends with Demi since filming the first Camp Rock movie, of course, though Joe got to see her more often and, of course, played her eventual love interest, meaning that he was the one the magazines and gossip sites were convinced was her boyfriend. At that point, however, neither of them was dating her: they had, in Nick's words, been "idiots" and only seen her as a friend for quite a long time.

In fact, it wasn't until filming began for Camp Rock 2 that they both, seemingly simultaneously, developed crushes on her. One night, after the day's filming had been completed, Nick turned to Joe.

"So apparently I have a crush on Demi now."

Joe laughed. "Join the club, dude."

Nick nodded pensively, thinking over their options. "So what are we gonna do about this?"

Joe sighed. "I don't know, nothing? It's up to her, right?" He didn't wait for a response from Nick before continuing. "I mean, if she only likes one of us, there's nothing we can do about it. Heck, if she doesn't like _either_ of us, there's _still_ nothing we can do about it. "

Nick groaned. "I hate it when you're right." Suddenly, he sat up. "Wait, so what do we do if she only likes one of us? I mean, I don't want to hurt anyone, you know? You're more important to me than most other people, anyway."

Joe leaned back, frustrated. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. Suddenly, Joe sat up again. "How about if… OK, so if she decides she wants to go out with you, I promise not to be jealous. Could you do that if she wants to date me?"

Nick thought. "Yeah, most likely. I mean I pretty much just want good things for both of you, so if you make her happy, that works out."

Joe nodded. "That's pretty much what I was thinking. I mean, if she wants to be with you instead of me, sure, I'll be a little sad that she's not with me too, but not sad enough to stop being happy for the two of you!"

"Good, I'm glad we're in agreement." Nick nodded solemnly. "We should probably shake on it, though."

Joe grinned. "While we're on this train of thought, what if she likes both of us?"

"Ugh, don't even get my hopes up like that, Joseph."

"Yeah, but what if? I mean, we're already fine with her dating whichever of us she wants, so what if she wants to date both of us?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "In that extremely unlikely situation, yeah. I'd be fine with that."

"Cool!" Joe stood up, dragging Nick up with him, and held out his hand. "OK, so you swear?"

"Yes, Joe, I swear." Rolling his eyes only slightly, Nick grasped Joe's hand and shook it. "You know, I'm pretty sure most brothers are more competitive than this."

"Yeah, well, most brothers aren't us."

The matter settled, they set about falling asleep.

The next day, in an astounding display of convenient timing, Demi approached Joe as he attempted to skip rocks off the lake during a break in filming. Joe, his mind on what he and Nick had discussed last night, didn't notice her approach until she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh! Hi, Demi. Sorry, I was… thinking."

"Oh? About what?"

Joe smiled. "Just stuff, nothing interesting."

Demi raised her eyebrows, but smiled back. "Joe, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure!" Joe turned away from the lake to find Demi standing as close to him as she could possibly get. Remembering last night's conversation, he stepped away quickly, earning a frown.

"Are you OK?"

"I'm fine! Just, uh, feeling a little crowded today." He made a show of stretching his arms, but Demi was unimpressed.

"Joe, seriously, what's the deal? We're perfect for each other. What are you doing?"

Joe's eyes widened. "This is… really awkward. I have to go." He rushed off before Demi could respond, leaving her standing on the dock, alone and confused. _Great,_ she thought. _I just ruined_ that _friendship._ She sat down on one of the chairs. _It's a good thing we're actors, or the rest of filming would be awful._

She sat, staring out at the lake, for longer than she could keep track of. Just when she was about to get up and check the shooting schedule again, Joe appeared again – with Nick beside him.

Joe smiled nervously. "Um… sorry about that. Is there any way we can go to a cabin or something?"

Demi nodded skeptically. She wasn't at all sure she wanted to make this any more awkward than it already was, nor did she have any idea why Nick was there, but she followed them to the nearest cabin anyway. Once there, Nick and Joe settled next to each other on one of the beds, as she cautiously sat on the bed next to that one. All three pairs of knees were touching.

Joe cleared his throat. "So, um, that was… kind of insanely rude of me earlier. I'm really sorry about that. I… needed to think about things."

"Uh-huh." Demi just hoped her expression was as skeptical as she felt.

"I really like you, Demi. And I'm really glad you like me back." He fidgeted, clearing his throat again. "But the thing is, Nick likes you too. And I… you know, I don't want to hurt him. Which'd be why he's here for this." Nick, who had so far been silent, gave a little wave at this. Joe grinned at him before turning back to Demi. "We promised we'd be open about it."

"Huh." Demi looked down for a moment. "That does make things complicated." She looked up to meet Joe's eyes. "You're still a _jerk_ , but I guess I understand." He grinned nervously as she thought for a bit. "Yeah, that does make it weird. I mean, I wasn't gonna say this, because… no offense, Nick, but you're _really_ good at hiding your feelings."

Nick shrugged modestly, seeming to indicate that he had deliberately honed this skill to perfection. Demi shook her head, amused, and moved on.

"The _point_ , you weirdo, is that if you'd given me even a hint that you were interested I would have told you that I like you too."

Joe and Nick just stared at her.

"So, y'know, I guess in that case it'd be better if I didn't date either of you. I don't want to hurt you, you know? I mean, unless you want to deal with both of you dating me, which would be…" She trailed off as she noticed the looks Nick and Joe were directing at each other.

"What?"

"I mean… would you be OK with that?" Nick's expression was far too calculating for someone his age, _her_ age, but she'd long given up on expecting him to act anything like a child. "If we were both OK with, you know, both of us dating you, would you be OK with that?"

Joe jumped in. "It's probably really creepy that we're even asking this, and you can, like, shun us forever once filming's done, but… I mean, you like both of us, so… why not, right?"

Demi stared at them. "Well… _would_ you both be OK with that? 'Cause I don't want to start some sort of competition, you know? If we do this, it'd have to be even, and I need to make sure you guys aren't messing with me."

"No!" Joe was wide-eyed. "No, seriously, we've even talked about this and everything. About asking you, I mean."

Nick nodded earnestly. "We're definitely both OK with it, as long as you are. So… are you?"

Demi laughed, delighted. "Are you kidding? Of course I am!" She stood up, grabbing their hands and pulling them up with her. Before either Nick or Joe knew what was happening, she threw her arms around Nick and kissed him. Joe watched, smirking, until suddenly Demi pulled away from Nick. She took a breath, then turned to Joe and kissed him with equal fervour. Now it was Nick's turn to grin.

Eventually Demi pulled back, beaming. She looked nervously from one to the other. "OK?"

Nick and Joe could only stare at her, then at each other. Finally, Nick gave her a shaky thumbs up, at which Joe laughed. "Yeah, definitely OK."

~~~

Kevin leaned back, impressed. "Well! Good for you, then. But you know this means you're never allowed to make fun of me, right?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Dude, you're a married man with a boyfriend. That's a little weirder than one girl going out with two guys."

"I don't think so, little brother." Kevin shook his head, eyes sparkling. "Not when the two guys are brothers and everyone involved is on Disney's payroll."

Nick laughed. "That's… a really good point, actually. Fair enough." He leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head until a thought struck him and he sat forward once more. "So does this sort of thing, like, run in families, you think?"

Joe choked on what sounded suspiciously like laughter, and Kevin could have sworn he heard a "That's what she said" somewhere in there. Nick glared at his brother, who beamed at him. "What?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Ignore him. But it's gotta be a little weird, right? I mean, all three of us being in that kind of relationship?"

Kevin shrugged. "I don't know, maybe? I wouldn't even know where to _start_ looking up stats on this kind of thing; maybe it's more common than we think."

"I'm just saying," Joe interjected, "I'm not sure I'd be OK with Frank having two girlfriends or something."

Nick and Kevin paused, then simultaneously rejected the image. "Let's, uh… let's not think about that, shall we?" Kevin wrinkled his nose. "It's weird enough talking about _my_ personal life with y'all, I _really_ don't want to think about that."

Joe nodded. "That's pretty much it, yeah."

Kevin checked his watch. "Oh, crap! Guys, we'd better get back before Dad sends someone after us."

They all stood up, but Joe held up a hand. "So can we just confirm that we're not gonna talk to anyone else about what we said in here? I mean, it'd be cool if I could take that sort of thing for granted, but then Taylor happened."

Kevin and Nick winced before promising their silence, and they left the library.

\---

The tour continued. The Jonas Brothers continued to rock the socks off their audiences of preteens and patient parents. Magazines and websites continued to speculate on reasons for Mike's presence on the tour, as well as Joe's relationship with Demi, but that was expected; the people involved simply kept their mouths shut, as they had grown used to doing. Also as they had grown used to doing, they occasionally laughed at how off-base most of the theories were.

With the tour over, Mike and Kevin returned to their respective cities. While the Jonas Brothers were nowhere near ready to start working on another album, Bill had apparently started writing songs in Mike's absence. With Mike therefore busy helping write and arrange a new TAI album, he and Kevin didn't see or hear much of each other for a while. They called each other every now and then, to trade updates and banal everyday chitchat and occasionally more private conversations, but for the most part they settled back into their pre-tour routines.

One day, Mike called Kevin to tell him about the "completely ridiculous" conversation he'd just had with Bill. He could barely get the words out through the laughter.

"He seriously asked me if I thought I was doing the right thing, dating a married man. Like he's not used to it by now, or something?" Mike chuckled. "I mean, I know he worries, but he usually doesn't try to talk to me about my immortal soul until he's _way_ drunker than this." He collapsed into laughter again, as Kevin frowned.

"He thinks you're going to Hell for dating me?" Kevin had steeled himself to expect that sort of reaction if his parents ever found out, but he'd never thought to expect it from Bill.

"No, nah- not just for that!" Mike coughed a little as he forcibly stopped his laughter. "I mean, he kinda thinks I'm going to Hell for corrupting a Jonas brother, but he's mostly joking when he says that. I think." He sighed. "He's just a little weird about me goin' out with someone who already has a wife. I think he thinks I'm gonna end up making you cheat or something. Or, like… Man, I don't even know. Point is, he's nuts."

Kevin smiled weakly, remembering just in time that Mike couldn't see him. "Yeah, that is pretty nuts. It kinda sounds like he needs better things to worry about, honestly."

"I know, right? He should know better, anyway. S'not like it's cheating when he and Pete get busy, 'cause Christine's cool with it. Hell, I think she'd even let 'em go past making out, if they wanted, as long as she could watch." Mike huffed a laugh. "I don't know, he's bein' stupid. S'why I called you, anyway; he'll apologize when we're sober, but it's too dumb not to tell you."

Kevin finally laughed, appeased. "Well, thanks for that, then. I'll be sure to hold it over his head next time I see him."

"You do that, yeah. Hey!" Mike's tone turned urgent. "I miss you, man. Don't forget me or somethin' just 'cause I'm far away."

"I miss you too, Mike." Kevin laughed. "And I'm reminding you of this conversation once you sober up."

As Kevin closed his phone, Danielle snaked her arms around him from behind. He turned in her grip and smiled fondly at her. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

Danielle pretended to consider the question. "Let me see… if 'lately' means 'within the past few hours', than no."

"Well, I do." Kevin leaned in and kissed her quickly. "I'll never know why God decided I deserve someone as amazing as you."

She pulled back, grinning. "Not that I'm complaining, but what brought this on?"

"Mike," Kevin admitted, sheepishly. "Apparently Bill's worried that I'm cheating on you with him, which reminded me how lucky I am that you're not jealous."

"Why would I be jealous?" She poked him in the chest, smiling. "You're _not_ cheating, and I know that, so worrying would just be bad for my skin." She winked. "Now, are you hungry? I was thinking ziti alfredo."

Kevin pulled her closer and spun with her. "Seriously, you are the best _ever_."

A few months passed this way. One morning, as Kevin finished making the bed, Danielle called to him from their adjoining bathroom. "Honey? Could you come in here, please?"

Her voice was tense, and Kevin raced into the bathroom, only to be confronted with the sight of his wife sitting on the toilet. Her head was bowed, and she was looking at something in her hands… oh. As comprehension dawned, she looked up.

"I'm pregnant, Kevin." Her voice offered no clues as to how she felt about the news, and her expression was equally conflicted. Kevin had never known it was possible to look excited and terrified at the same time, but Danielle had managed it. He didn't blame her. For his part, he felt as if his heart had been gripped tight and squeezed, but even he wasn't sure what that reaction meant to him.

"Are you…" He approached, dropping to his knees in front of her. "Are you OK?"

"I…" She sighed, took a breath, and closed her eyes. "I don't know." As he reached out for her, she waved him away and stood up. "Oh gosh, don't touch me yet, I have to wash my hands!" She busied herself at the sink as he cast about for something to say. In the end, she caught his eyes in the mirror and smiled nervously before turning and throwing her arms around him.

He hugged her back, staring wordlessly at his reflection behind her. Were they ready for this? They had always said they would wait until Danielle felt ready, but they had never counted on an unexpected arrival. He hated himself for it, but his second thought after concern was one of PR: how would their fans react to their baby being put up for adoption? And if, God forbid… but no, he refused to think about that, instead hugging her closer.

As Dani pulled away from his grip, Kevin schooled his features into an expression of optimistic neutrality and took a deep breath. Her eyes were sparkling, and a smile slowly spread across her face.

"I think I'm ready for this."

Kevin's heart leapt in his chest. "Are you sure?"

Danielle nodded, taking his hands. "I'm sure. I've always wanted a child, and this is as close as we're ever going to get to convenient timing." They chuckled together, before she pulled their hands to rest on her stomach. "Besides, who's to say this isn't God telling us now is the right time?"

Kevin nodded, smiling tearfully. He pulled his wife, his beautiful, amazing wife, into another hug. "We can do this," he whispered to her. "You're gonna be a great mom, and I'll be the best dad I can be."

"You bet you will," she whispered back, before ducking her head to his shoulder and starting to cry. "Don't- don't worry," she reassured him when she felt him tense up. "These are good tears."

Kevin knew the feeling, and held her tighter.

They told their parents first, before informing their respective siblings. Danielle's family offered them hearty congratulations through the phone, while Kevin's family of course took the excuse to come over. Kevin studiously avoided Joe's eyes, but couldn't escape the jabs and teasing. Eventually he resigned himself to it, realising that as long as he and Dani were happy, that was all that mattered. And they _were_ happy, so happy that it was almost nightfall before Kevin remembered the one person they hadn't yet told.

"What's up, babycakes?"

Kevin stifled a laugh. "Hi, Bill. Is Mike there, or have you stolen his cell?"

"Nah, he's here, he's just too short to get the phone away from me."

"Just because you're freakishly tall, Beckett!" Mike grumbled in the background, before apparently recovering his phone in a clatter. "Hey, Kev, what's up?"

"Are you sitting down?"

Mike's voice was tense. "I am now. What happened? Is Dani OK?"

"No, she's fine! She's- we just found out she's pregnant."

"Oh. Wow."

"Are _you_ OK?"

"Yeah, no, I'm fine. Congratulations, man! Uh, tell Dani I wish her the best."

"I will, yeah." Kevin cast about for something else to say. "So, how've you been?"

"Oh, you know, busy." Mike laughed. "We're done writing, unless Bill gets another stroke of whatever, and pretty soon we're gonna start laying down the individual tracks on a handful of songs."

"Oh wow, that's great!"

"I know, right? Oh, hang on-" There followed a muffled noise and low sounds in the background, before Mike returned. "Sorry, yeah, Bill wants to make sure you don't tell anyone we're done writing. Anyone official or anything, I assume is what he means. He doesn't like when people rush him, so."

"Yeah, no problem. I know how Nick gets, so, y'know, I won't tell any of my bigshot industry connections on Disney's label."

Mike laughed. "Good, you do that."

They stayed on the phone for a little longer, talking about random things, until Mike squawked and Kevin realised Bill had taken his phone again. "Mike has to leave now, loverboy. He's not _nearly_ drunk enough. Congratulations to your lovely wife, by the way. Name the baby after me, will you?" Kevin could hear Mike's protestations as the connection was broken, but he only shook his head, amused. There was no _way_ he was telling Dani about Bill's request. With his luck, she'd take him up on it.

A few weeks later, Mike took the initiative and called Kevin.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"Oh gosh, Mike, can I call you back? We're at Dani's first prenatal appointment, and a nurse is frowning at me for being on my phone. I'll call you later, I promise."

"Yeah, sure, no problem. Hey, good luck with the appointment. Or, I don't know, whatever's appropriate to say for this situation."

Kevin chuckled. "'Good luck' works. Thanks, man. Talk to you later."

"Yeah-" Mike's response was cut off when Kevin hung up.

The thing was, Mike understood. When Christine was pregnant, Bill had taken masses of time off to be with her and get her to her appointments and everything. That's what husbands and/or baby daddies did, if they were good people. The problem was, Bill wasn't his boyfriend, and he lived nearby anyway, so they still got to hang. Kevin lived at the bottom of the country, and he'd been with Danielle for a lot longer than he'd been with Mike, and… look, Mike got a little nervous sometimes, OK? But he forced himself to man up and remember that this sort of thing made sense in context. It wasn't a big deal if Kevin couldn't talk sometimes.

When Kevin couldn't talk the next _three times_ Mike called him, however, that was too much. The third time, Mike apologized for calling at an inconvenient time, closed his phone, put it down, and punched the wall.

Luckily, he thought while clutching his injured hand, he'd been alone at the time. The guys probably would have mocked him endlessly, and when they were done with that Bill, at least, would have told him he was being an idiot. Which Mike really didn't need to hear, since he already _knew_ he was being an idiot. All he needed was to talk to Kevin about his concerns, so they could work things out. That was one of the things they'd specifically discussed the night they got together, and even though Mike wasn't much for big emotional scenes he really didn't want to be the guy who was jealous of his boyfriend's _wife_ , like that was a reasonable reaction.. All he needed was to talk to Kevin.

That proved easier said than done, however. As the weeks passed, Kevin grew harder and harder to reach, eventually changing his outgoing message to ward off potential offense:

"Hi, you've reached Kevin Jonas. If I can't come to the phone right now, I'm probably at an appointment with my wife. If you leave a message I'll try to get back to you, but I can't guarantee it'll happen. Sorry, you know how it is."

Mike did, but that didn't make the radio silence any easier to bear.

When Danielle went to People to break the news of her pregnancy, it was Chiz who told Mike. If by "told" one meant "threw the magazine down in front of". Mike happened to be sitting at a table at the time, and Chiz took the opportunity to sit across from him.

"You OK, man? You've been kinda mopey lately. This Jonas thing is getting to you, huh?"

Mike sighed. He wanted to take offense, but Chiz wasn't wrong. "I'm just being weird." He picked up the magazine, flipping the pages until he got to the photo spread of Danielle, barely beginning to show. "I'm happy for them, I just kinda wish…" He rolled his eyes at himself. "I don't know, OK? I don't know what I wish. I'm not exactly used to this, and I feel like shit for being unhappy."

Chiz laughed quietly. "Wow, the great Santi laid low by a Jonas brother. Definitely wouldn't have bet on that one."

"Yeah, shut up." Despite himself, Mike smiled. "'Sides, weren't you not talking to me? I mean, I know you're not exactly cool with this whole…" he waved a hand, "thing."

Chiz shrugged. "It's not really my place to judge, is it?" He leaned forward intently. "I'm not a bigot, man. Trust me, I couldn't handle being in this band if I cared what people do in bed. I mean, your situation's a little odd, but I don't think you're going to Hell or anything. Maybe it's enough that they make you happy, you know?"

Mike frowned. "The scary thing is, it sounded like you actually meant that."

Chiz rolled his eyes. "See, I try to be nice and I get mockery. I'm serious, man. Call your boyfriend, or your boyfriend's wife, or whatever. I don't know, call his weird little brothers. Just get in touch with someone and stop sleepwalking through recording, yeah? It's depressing."

"Yeah, that's more like it." Mike laughed, closing the magazine. "Don't worry, man; I'm fine."

Chiz nodded. "Good." He stood up, stretching, and headed for the door. "After all, it's not as bad as it could be. At least you're settled down with a nice Christian boy." He ducked out of the room, laughing, as Mike threw the magazine at his head.

Despite what he kept telling his bandmates, and even Kevin on the rare occasions they were able to talk, Mike was not, in fact, fine. Immediately after the first interview, all the other gossip rags and tabloids picked up the story of Dani's pregnancy. Mike didn't read any of the stories, preferring to get his scandalous information from the source, but he had to see them every time he went to get beer or a pack of cigarettes and sometimes it just got to be too much.

It wasn't like he blamed Kevin for being busy. His management (pretty much meaning his parents, Mike remembered) had him on constant PR duty, talking to radio talk shows and morning shows and all kinds of weird outlets about how much he loved his wife, how much they were looking forward to their baby, all of that. And, of course, since Mr. And Mrs. Jonas were blessedly unaware of their eldest son's relationship with anyone but his wife, they'd nixed non-professional calls to non-family members before too long. Mike wasn't sure it was legal for them to control adults like that, but Kevin, even during his phone calls of outright parental defiance, didn't see anything wrong with it.

"They just want to make sure we don't accidentally say something wrong to someone who'll take it the wrong way and try to get a scoop or something," he said. "We've always had to be careful, you know? Interviewers trying to pit us against each other, that kinda thing. I think Mom mostly wants to keep me away from people who ask inappropriate questions about how the baby was conceived or whatever." At Mike's shocked noise, he laughed. "I know, right? But I can't say I don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure there's at least one rumour so far about how it's really Joe's or something."

Mike shook his head, laughing. "Well, your life's weirder than mine, I'll give you that much."

Not that relative weirdness was the point when Kevin's phone calls gradually grew less and less regular, until finally Mike just shut off his phone and stopped expecting to need to turn it on. It would be easier for everyone involved if he just didn't try to be part of Kevin's life until after the baby was born, he reasoned. Maybe not for a while after that either, in case its grandparents thought the big scary mainstream musician was a bad influence.

He did feel more than a little ridiculous for being such a drama queen about the whole thing, though. That was usually Bill's job, but Bill didn't know about this mess and Mike wasn't going to tell him. That would only end in harebrained schemes and possibly public declarations of some sort, and Mike suspected Disney had underhanded ways of getting back at people who besmirched the perfectly heterosexual public images of their stars.

So, for lack of a more coherent plan, Mike simply stepped away. Unfortunately, even that seemingly simple plan was easier thought of than carried out.

Three days after making his decision, Mike was roughly shaken awake and found Bill staring down at him.

"What are you doing?"

"M'sleeping, Bill, what's it look like?" Mike squinted against the light.

"Wrong answer!" Bill chirped, as he grabbed Mike's arm and pulled him up until he was sitting against the arm of the couch. Bill crouched down in front of him. "Now, tell Uncle William why you've been so depressing lately."

"What? Christ, Bill, can this wait until later?"

Bill sighed. "Sadly, no, it cannot. See, yesterday was the third straight day of you being just intolerably withdrawn, and that's not normal for you. If you're pissed, why aren't you yelling?"

"I'm not pissed, what are you talking about? I mean, sorry I'm not all snuggles and sunshine, but why does that equal waking me up?"

Bill tilted his head. "Have you not even noticed? You're pretty noticeably out of it. Hell, usually you'd just lie back down if you wanted."

"I-" Mike paused. "Huh, that's true." He shrugged. "Still not mad, though."

"OK, so what?" Bill stood up, towering over Mike. "You're not mad, so, I don't know, are you sad about something? Frustrated? Dude, help me out here. Help me help you."

Mike flopped back against the cushions. "Now is not the time for a therapy session, Beckett."

"No, I think what you meant to say was that this is the _perfect_ time for a therapy session." Bill settled into the nearest chair. "Now, tell Doctor Beckett all your worries."

"You're not gonna let me sleep until I start talking, huh?" Bill shook his head silently, at which Mike groaned. "Ugh, fine. I'm not even upset, though. I was just being logical. I'm allowed to be logical sometimes, right?"

"Rarely, but occasionally. Go on."

"OK, so Kevin and Dani have been in the middle of a bunch of weirdness with the pregnancy and everyone wanting interviews and stuff, you know?" Bill nodded, and while his expression made Mike want to slug him he nevertheless pressed on. "So Kev pretty much can't call anyone, and- no, really, why am I letting you do this?"

"Because you love me and want to get things off your chest."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not it," Mike growled. "Whatever, like it matters. Kev's not allowed to call me, basically, and he doesn't have time for it anyway, so I'm just not gonna be in contact with them for a while. Make it easier for everyone."

"OK, that sounds reasonable. How does Kevin feel about it?"

"What? I don't know, he's probably too busy to think much about it."

Bill blinked. "You decided to stop contacting your boyfriend, and you didn't even tell him you'd decided it? You're a piece of work, Carden."

"Oh, what, it's not like we can talk that much lately anyway."

"OK, but do you seriously not see the difference?" Bill sat forward, frowning. "What if he gets some spare time and tried to call you?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "OK, then he can call. What's the problem?"

"Has your little martyrdom thing _actually_ driven you insane? Your phone's off, and Dani doesn't have my number since the last time I changed it!"

Mike blinked. "I- wow, that was kinda stupid of me, huh?"

"Yes, Michael. Yes, it was. Now, would you like to tell me what inspired this cockery, or shall I keep making you realise things about yourself until you can't take it anymore?"

"What was… no, don't tell me, I don't want to know." Mike grinned despite himself. "It's not like there's much to tell. He's busy with his wife, and-"

"Interesting word choice, 'his wife' rather than 'Danielle'. Problems with that?"

"Oh, seriously, man? Are you really gonna do this whole thing?" Mike shook his head, exasperated, and mumbled under his breath.

Bill pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mike Carden. Dearest friend. I can only help you if you _use your words_."

"Fine, maybe I'm a little jealous, whatever."

Bill beamed. "Very good! Now use some _new_ words."

"Screw you."

"No, I don't think so. Go on." Bill gestured with one hand, at which Mike glared.

"They're _married_ dude. She's having his _kid_. How am I supposed to compete with that?"

"So, what, you'd rather be having his kid?"

"Oh, fuck you." Mike threw one of the couch pillows at Bill, who dodged it easily. "See, this is why I don't talk to you. Not everything's gotta be some cross-gendered pornfiction."

"Unfortunately, this is true. You're jealous of Dani, go on."

"I don't know, man, it's not like I want to be his one and only or something. It just gets weird sometimes, 'cause no one else knows, so I feel like… I don't know. I don't know what I'm talking about, you should have let me get more sleep."

"OK, this may be a stupid question, but have you talked to Kevin about any of this?"

"Not… exactly, no."

Bill sighed expansively. "Yeah, that's what I thought. What happened to the three of you talking this stuff out from the beginning?"

Mike groaned, falling back against the couch again. "I guess I just didn't think of this, OK? Are you done with the shrink act?"

"For now, yes." Bill stood up, stretching. Suddenly he froze, a grin spreading across his face. Before Mike could register that he should probably be scared, Bill snapped back into action, hauling him off the couch. "Come on. You're going to take a shower, and then we're going to Texas."

"What? Oh, I don't think so." Mike pulled his arm from Bill's grip. "Showering is… yeah, probably a good idea. Going to his _house?_ Not so much!"

"No arguments, Carden," Bill sang out as he headed to the kitchen. "Just be ready at noon, I'll take care of the rest."

Mike kicked the couch and swore quietly.

After he'd showered and practically been force-fed, Mike reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged out of the house. On the way to the airport, Bill patiently explained to him why exactly this whole thing was necessary.

"So, tell me again why this whole thing is necessary?"

"Because, my friend, you need to talk to Kevin face-to-face. This has gotten entirely too ridiculous for me to deal with."

Mike spent the plane ride not talking to Bill.

Mike wasn't surprised to find that Bill had a rental car waiting for them at the gate; trust Bill to plan things to an insane degree. Slightly more surprising, though it probably shouldn't have been, was the fact that Bill essentially kicked him out of the car once they reached Kevin's house.

"Oh, come on, seriously?"

Bill rolled down the passenger window. "Talk to him, man. Call me when it's over if you want, but I'm not picking you up until one of them tells me you actually gave it a shot."

"Anyone ever tell you you're a sucky matchmaker, Beckett?"

"Love you too, honey."

The fact that he hadn't really expected anything better didn't stop Mike from waving his arms in exasperation as Bill sped away. Finally, realising he had no way to leave without either Bill or a local taxi service, he gave in and rang the bell.

When Kevin answered, Mike had his arms crossed and was leaning against the doorjamb.

"Mike? What are you doing here? Are you OK? Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

Taken aback, Mike defaulted to sullenness. It had always served him well before. "I don't know, Bill kicked me out of the car here. Sorry for bothering you, but I guess if you could give me the number of some local cab company I'll get out of your hair."

Kevin stepped outside, half-closing the door behind him. "Why would I want you out of my hair? Seriously, Mike, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, OK? Nothing's wrong. I just figured you wouldn't want to hear from me for a while, so I cut contact. Can you give me that number now?"

Kevin laughed in pure disbelief. "Why would you think something stupid like that?"

Mike stared, his gaze hardening. "You know, Jonas, I put up with a lot of shit from the guys for being in this relationship, and the last thing I need is you calling me an idiot. I get that you have other priorities, I really do, and I already feel like shit for being jealous of your _wife_ , for Chrissakes, but you sure as Hell don't need to insult me!"

"Wait, what?" Kevin stepped closer, laying his hands on Mike's shoulders. "Why- No, I'm sorry, you're right, I shouldn't have said that. But why are you jealous of Dani?"

Mike laughed bitterly. "Um, try 'because she's your wife'?" He stepped back, shaking off Kevin's touch. "Look, I get it, Kev. I do. She's pregnant, of course you're focused on her. That's a lot of why I didn't want to bug you anymore."

Kevin blinked. "I'm still not clear on exactly what you're saying, but it sure sounds like you thought Dani being pregnant would mean I didn't love you anymore. I gotta say, if that's the case I'm gonna have to repeat myself and say that's stupid."

Mike stopped his angry flailing and stared at Kevin, who looked defiantly back. "You-" Mike stammered. "Wait, you love me?"

Kevin's face softened. "Of course I love you. I sort of always have."

"But… Dani." Mike, in his shock, had been reduced to single words.

"Yes, Dani is my wife. And you're my boyfriend. I love you both, and nothing's gonna change that. Things like this are why phones were invented, you know? Maybe _keep yours on_ next time you get all paranoid."

Mike laughed, genuinely this time. "You're amazing, you know that? You're amazing and I'm an idiot."

"You're not an idiot! You just…" Kevin searched for an appropriate phrase.

"Oh, shut up." Mike snaked a hand behind Kevin's head and pulled him in for a long kiss. When he finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against Kevin's. "I love you too, you know."

Kevin nodded. "I had an inkling." He dodged Mike's swat, laughing. "Hey, as long as you're here, you wanna come in?"

Mike smirked. "I might as well, right? I mean, since we apparently love each other now." He paused, pointing at Kevin. "You know I'm never gonna forgive you for making me get all sappy, right?"

Rolling his eyes fondly, Kevin opened the door and gestured. "Come on. Dani's upstairs. I'm sure she'd _love_ to hear how you thought she was stealing me from you, since she's the one who set us up in the first place."

"Just asking now, are you ever gonna stop making fun of me for that?"

"Hmm, maybe eventually. You'll have to make it up to me first, though."

"I think I can do that." Mike slung an arm around Kevin's shoulders as they headed inside.


End file.
